New Values for the Nation

I am not surprised that Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, the “reformist Prime Minister” and President of UMNO, has not been able to transform his party despite all the talk about change leading up to the recently-concluded party general assembly.

Listening to the speeches of the President and the delegates, one can safely conclude that UMNO is in a state of permanent delirium for which no treatment exists.

Some so-called “leaders” of UMNO have warned that if the party loses at the next General Election, or if it returns with a weak majority, then the May 13 tragedy will recur. This is most uncalled for and it makes me sick to my bones.

Does the “reformist Prime Minister” condone this shameless posturing? These are outright threats and he should distance himself from them immediately. As Prime Minister for all Malaysians, he should apologise to the nation for the inflammatory statements made by the delegates of the party he leads.

No one should capitalise on a national tragedy for the reprehensible purpose of exploiting emotions ahead of the coming election. I hope Malaysians—and especially Malays—will find this statement repulsive and punish UMNO accordingly.

On the last day of the UMNO General Assembly, we saw a virulent attack against pluralism and liberalism led by none other than the Prime Minister himself. This onslaught was targeted at the Pakatan Rakyat, which is laughable because PAS can hardly be described as pluralist and liberal political parties.

But there is a greater danger that is no laughing matter at all. For the sake of UMNO delegates who might be a bit behind the times, let me explain the simple meanings of pluralism and liberalism:

In the general sense, liberalism is a political philosophy that was founded on the principles of freedom, liberty and equality. Liberalism supports the free-market economy, the individual’s right to ownership of property, free and democratic elections as the foundation of government, freedom of religion and basic human rights.

The Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia was founded on these principles, and our proclamation of Independence contained the words “liberty, freedom and justice for all.” So, why are the Prime Minister and his followers in UMNO attacking the Constitution and the core values of this country?

As for pluralism, this is a fact of our existence and it stares us in our faces even if we try to run away. We are a plural society and have been from the beginning. The word generally refers to a political state in which exist different groups or communities living together as a nation.

When we talk about “cultural pluralism” we mean that there are communities in Malaysia that maintain and practise their own cultures and ways of life. Malaysia was built on this idea. “Legal pluralism” means that we have more than one system of laws operating at the same time. This is certainly true for us too, given the existence of our parallel legal systems.

As a political theory, pluralism means that we allow and respect the rights of everyone and that citizens have an obligation to protect the diversity of the different groups and their right to coexist peacefully with others.

Pluralism also denotes a “marketplace” of different ideas and expressions that are allowed to flourish—in other words, we cannot have a free society and enjoy the fruits of true democracy unless we subscribe to pluralist and liberal political ideals.

Why then has there been such a rabid attack on pluralism and liberalism? The answer, my friends, is frightening.

I believe that UMNO wants to replace these fundamental values of our country  with a new set. “1Malaysia” isn’t what you think. It doesn’t mean different races living together in harmony while maintaining the richness of their separate identities. It doesn’t mean unity in diversity. It doesn’t mean respecting the rights of minorities. It doesn’t mean any of the values this country stands for.

In the eyes of UMNO it means 1People bound by 1Set of values manufactured by 1Big Brother: UMNO. And UMNO will not tolerate any dissent. It will not allow the existence of any belief different from theirs.

This is alien to the Constitution and the core values of our country.

Of course, UMNO is not the first to attack liberal values and pluralist ideas in our day. Others have too, and they have caused the worst misery and suffering mankind has ever known: Nazis, Fascists and Communists, to name a few. Moreover, in the past 30 years authoritarian regimes masquerading as “men of God” have joined the fray.

Malaysia will be the next country to follow suit if no one stands up to these anti-liberal bullies. If the rakyatcannot see the danger, or if we think that we are powerless do anything to stop the slide, then we are done for. We will cease to be a free country. Instead, we will have an authoritarian and arbitrary regime by which rulers will rule as they please.

The only way to preserve our freedom and liberty is to demand the preservation of our democracy and the values enshrined in our Constitution. We must reject any attempt by UMNO to remake this country in its image. We must demand that other political leaders within the Barisan Nasional put the national interest ahead of their own narrow electoral ambitions—for if they do not, we shall all be lost. - Zaid Ibrahim